Attribution Flashcards

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1
Q

Attribution

A

-Explanation for behavior (ours or others)

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2
Q

Attribution Theory

A

-Theory about how people explain the causes of behavior

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3
Q

What did Fritz Heider (The Father of Attribution Research) argue?

A

We are all intuitive scientists and we try to
1) Predict our environment
2) Control our environment

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4
Q

What are the 2 types of Attributions?

A

1) Dispositional
2) Situational

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5
Q

Dispositional Attribution

A

-behavior caused by internal factors based on personality

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6
Q

Situational Attribution

A

-behavior caused by external factors based on the situation

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7
Q

Correspondent Inference Theory (CIT)

A

1) How people should make attributions if they were being intuitive scientists
2) Focuses on WHEN people make dispositional attributions

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8
Q

What are the 3 factors of CIT

A
  1. Free Choice
  2. Expectedness
  3. Effects of the behavior
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9
Q

How does free choice impact dispositional attributions (CIT)

A

The higher the choice is when it comes to behavior, the higher the dispositional attribution
^Free Choice=^Dispositional Attributions

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10
Q

How does Expectedness impact dispositional attributions (CIT)

A

The more you expect a behavior, the less likely one is to make a dispositional attribution
- The more you expect a behavior=the less likely dispositional attributions are

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11
Q

How do Effects of the behavior impact dispositional attributions (CIT)

A

The more positive effects there are for a given behavior, the less certain you can be about WHY THE PERSON PRODUCED THE BEHAVIOR

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12
Q

(CIT) predictions

A

Dispositional Attributions will be more likely when
1. Choice is high
2. Expectedness is low
3. There are few positive effects of behavior

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13
Q

What are the problems found in Early Attribution Theories?

A
  1. Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)
  2. The Actor-Observer Effect
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14
Q

Fundamental Attribution Error

A

-Tendency to UNDERESTIMATE the effects of a situation on a person’s behavior
-Tendency to OVERESTIMATE the effect of a person’s dispositions
ie) 1) Seeing people in an odd placement at a gas station
2) Assuming it’s the person’s fault when its more likely that someone was there first

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15
Q

The Actor-Observer Effect

A

-Tendency to make dispositional attributions for the actions OF OTHERS
-Tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviors

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16
Q

Why do we tend to make situational attributions for ourselves?

A
  1. We have more information about ourselves
  2. When it comes to others, we focus on the behaviors of others
  3. We ARE aware of the context when it comes to ourselves
17
Q

Gilbert’s 3 Stage Model?

A

The suggested model of the various stages people go through in making behavioral attributions

18
Q

What are the 3 stages of Gilbert’s Model

A

Stage 1: Behavioral Identification (This person just slipped into me)
Stage 2: Dispositional Attributions (This person is clumsy)
Stage 3: Situational Corrections (The floor was super slippery though)

19
Q

(GM) Stage 1: Behavioral Identification

A

The behavior in question is identified
-Occurs automatically

20
Q

(GM) Stage 2: Dispositional Attributions

A

People make a dispositional attribution for the behavior
-Occurs Automatically

21
Q

(GM) Stage 3: Situational Corrections

A

IF motivated and able, people can correct their dispositional attributions based on situational factors
- Controlled Process

22
Q

What would make someone more likely to make a situational correction?

A

If you care about the person more ie ingroup

23
Q

Belief in a Just World (BJW)

A

-The belief that there is justice in the world
-Good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad people
-One of the most powerful beliefs people have

24
Q

How can BJW impact Gilbert’s model?

A

-In many cases, it may reduce motivation to correct dispositional attributions for situational factors
ie( I may not want to see the evidence that someone isn’t as bad as I thought they were)

25
Q

Attributional Ambiguity

A

Occurs when the causes for a behavior are UNCLEAR

26
Q

How can stigma technically protect us

A

-Stigmatized individuals can protect their self-esteem by using stigma to attribute negative feedback to prejudice

27
Q

What is one reason that creates attributional ambiguity for people

A

Self-handicapping

28
Q

Why does self-handicapping cause attributional ambiguity?

A

-Because there are multiple reasons we could fail, we cannot be sure if it was due to ourselves or our performance obstacles